AR-200 - How can I get the AR-200 to play timed announcements? I want to play different announcements every five minutes or so.

This procedure will allow you to create timed announcements with the AR-200. You can have announcements play at various intervals, and even have announcements duck incoming audio and play over the music, then duck back out again when the announcement is over. Prior to creating timed playback, you need to do the following:

-Install the ARE software:

- Format your CF card in the AR-200

- Create WAV or MIDI files of your announcements PHRASE CONVERSION Phrase files are kept in the AR-200 in the RDAC (Roland Digital Audio Codec) file format. So we must first convert the WAV files to RDAC. Put all your WAV announcement files in a folder on your computer. Create another folder to serve as a backup of your CF card (call it AR_Backup or similar).

Connect your formatted CF card to your PC with a CF card interface. Open the ARE software. Click Option > Backup Path and browse to your new AR_Backup folder. Click OK. Click Option > Card Path and browse to the _AR3TDIR.cnf folder inside your CF card. Click OK. Click Edit > File Convert. Set Convert Mode to WAVE->RDAC. Set R-DAC Mode. Use LINEAR or HI-LINEAR to create high-quality phrases. Use Modes 1, 2 or 3 to create compressed phrase files with less sound quality but smaller files sizes. In Source Phrase, click the refer button and browse to your first WAV file. Click OPEN. In Target Phrase, click the refer button and select the first unused Phrase number assignment 0001. This will create phrase file _ARP0001.PHR. Click Save. Now click Start to begin the conversion process. ***note: the progress window may not start right away, or it may progress in fits and starts. Be patient and wait for the conversion process to finish. *** Now repeat the process for your next announcements. Be sure to select the desired R-DAC MODE each time, as it defaults to MODE 1 on each conversion. Be sure to manually select the next numerical Phrase Number in the Phrase Number Select drop-down of the Target Phrase refer window, as it defaults to 0001 each time. If you are unsure which phrase number should be next, look in the list of *.PHR files to the left, then select the next numerical Phrase Number from the drop-down. After converting all your WAV files to RDAC .PHR files on your CF card, perform file cleanup by clicking Edit > Cleanup > Start. When Cleanup is finished, click OK. You can now view your line-up by clicking File > Open Card Info. Browse to the _AR3TDIR.CNF folder in your CF card select the _AR3TSYS file inside. Click Open. You will now see all your RDAC phrases listed in the bottom pane of the ARE software. PLAYBACK PATTERN SETUP In order to create timed playback, we will use this scheme: each phrase announcement will send a Control Out message several seconds or minutes after the announcement ends. This Control Out message will be hard-wired to the Play terminal on the back of the AR-200. After several seconds or minutes (anywhere from 00m 01s to 59m 59s) the next numerical announcement will play. Start by setting a Control Out time for each phrase. Highlight a phrase in the bottom pane of the ARE software, then click Phrase Settings > Phrase Setup. In the Control Out drop-down, set how many minutes and seconds you would prefer between this phrase and the next numerical phrase in your line-up. If you want announcements spaced 5 minutes apart, select 05m00s, etc. Click ENTER. Repeat this for each phrase. Next, set up the Program Playback. Click the Control Input button in the ARE window. In Control Input Select, click the drop-down and select Program Playback. Then click the Program Play button. Click Program 1. Select Phrase 001 as the start of your Program. Click ENTER. Then click CANCEL in the Program Playback window. It will close. Click ENTER in the Control Input Select.